Quick-attach loader bucket

ABSTRACT

A loader has a pair of forwardly extending lift arms with a pair of forwardly extending tilt control links above the lift arms. A loader bucket is mounted for quick attachment to or detachment from the forward end of the lift arms and control links by means of a mechanism controlled from the operator&#39;&#39;s seat. The attachment mechanism includes a pair of transversely extending, vertically spaced hydraulic cylinders with piston rods extending from both ends of the cylinders. The upper cylinder is attached to the forward end of the tilt control links and the lower cylinder is attached to and extends between the forward end of the lift arm. The outer ends of the piston rods are extendable into and retractable from corresponding sockets on the rear side of the bucket in response to alternate pressurization of the center of the cylinders or the opposite ends of the cylinders, which is controlled by valve means at the operator&#39;&#39;s station.

United States Patent Hunger et al.

l52| UN 1 1 QUICK-ATTACH LOADER BUCKET inventors: Richard H. Hunger, Dubuque, Iowa; Leland Glen Gilbert, Moerfelden,

Germany Assignee: Deere & Company, Moline, Ill. Filed: Feb. 18, 1971 Appl. No.: 116,412

us. Cl ..214/145, 172/273 rm. Cl. .;...E02i 3/70 Field of Search... ..214/145, 140,620,621;

References Cited I UNITED STATES PATENTS s 3,705,656 [451 Dec. 12,1972

Primary Examiner-Albert J. Makay Assistant Examinerlohn Mannix Attorney-H. Vincent l-larsha, Harold M. Knoth, William A. Murray, Jimmie R. Oaks and John M. Nolan [5 7] ABSTRACT A loader has a pair of forwardly extending lift arms with a pair of forwardly extending tilt control links above the lift arms. A loader bucket is mounted for quick attachment to or detachment from the forward end of the lift arms and control links by means of a mechanism controlled from the operators seat. The attachment mechanism includes a pair of transversely extending, vertically spaced hydraulic cylinders with piston rods extending from both ends of the cylinders. The upper cylinder is attached to the forward end of the tilt control links and the lower cylinder is attached to and extends between the forward end of the lift arm. The outer ends of the piston rods are extendable into and retractable from corresponding sockets on the rear side of the bucket in response to alternate pressurization of the center of the cylinders or the opposite ends of the cylinders, which is controlled by valve means at the operators station.

8 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures PATENTED DEC 1 2 1912 SHEET 1 BF 2 INVENTORS R. H. HUNGER L. G. GILBERT PATENTED 0E1: 1,2 I972 SHEET 2 BF 2 INVENTORS R. H. HUNGER L. G. GILBERT QUICK-ATTACH LOADER BUCKET BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to improved means for quickly attaching an implement from a supporting structure, and more particularly to improved means for quickly attaching or detaching a loader bucket to or from the forward end of the loader boom or lift arms.

An agricultural or industrial vehicle, having a vertically adjustable supporting structure or boom, may be equipped with a wide variety of working tools. For ex ample, a tractor loader may be equipped with several different types of alternate buckets, such as excavating buckets, rock buckets, or multi-purpose buckets, as well as other implements such as forks, snow plows, or bulldozers. Since the changing of one implement to another normally requires considerable time and effort,

various types of mechanisms have been proposed to facilitate changing one implement to another.

Summary of the Invention According to the present invention, there is provided an improved system for quickly attaching or detaching an implement to or from the front end of a vertically adjustable supporting structure, such as formed by a vertically adjustable boom or pair of lift arms on a loader or the like.

An important feature of the invention resides in the fact that the implement can be changed without the operator leaving his seat, using the hydraulic power of the vehicle without any effort on the part of the operator. Another feature of the invention resides in the fact that the operator does nothave to align any heavy links or pins on the implement or the lift arms, eliminating a safety hazard. The fact that the operator does not have to leave his seat, also is a safety factor as well as a time saving convenience.

Another feature of the invention resides in the fact that the quick-attach system is relatively rugged, so that it does not reduce the capacity of the loader, and further does not change the loader geometry.

Another feature of the invention resides in the provision of an engaging hook for shifting the implement into a position wherein it is properly aligned for attachment to the supporting structure.

Still another feature of the invention resides in the fact that the quick-attach system can be easily installed as an option on new equipment or on machines already in the field.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of the forward end of a loader embodying the invention, with most of the loader bucket broken away to show the improved system for attaching the bucket to the loader arms, three of the mounting flanges, which normally extend rearwardly from the portion of the bucket broken away, being shown in phantom.

FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of the hydraulic system for the quick-attach mechanism.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged vertical section through the upper left attaching point.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The invention is embodied in a vehicle, such as.a loader-type tractor, having a forward, vertically adjustable supporting structure, indicated in its entirety by the numeral 10. Since the tractor and the rearward portion .of the structure 10 are conventional, only the forward portion of the structure is shown in the drawings. As is conventional on loader-type tractors, the supporting structure 10 includes right and left, forwardly extending, vertically adjustable lift arms 12 and 14 respectively, connected by a cross member 16 at their forward ends. It is to be understood that the terms, right, left, forward, and rearward, are used with respect to an operator facing forwardly on the tractor, so that the rightlift arm 12 appearson the left in FIG. l, which is a front view looking rearwardly.

i The forward end of the right lift arm 12 is provided with a transverse bore 18, which extends through the lift arm and is coaxially aligned with a similar bore 20 in the forward end of the left lift arm 14. Right and left tilt control links 22 and 24 are respectively disposed above and parallel to the forward portions of the right and left tilt arms 12 and 14 and respectively have transversely aligned bores 26 and 28'through their forward ends, the bore 26 being parallel to and above the bore 18 and the bore 28 being parallel to and above the bore 20. The tilt control links 22 and 24 are respectively provided with yokes 30 and 32 at their rearward ends, which are pivotally connected to tilt control cylinders (not shown) in a well known manner. The right yoke 30 is pivotally connected between the upper ends of a pair of bell crank type links 34 having their lower ends pivotally connected to the opposite sides of the right lift arm 12, the pivot connection between the upper ends of the links 34 and the yoke being providedby the pivot between the forward end of the tilt cylinder and the yoke. Similarly, a pair of bell crank links 36 are pivotally connected at their upper end to the yoke 32 and at their lower end to the opposite side of the left lift arm 14. The bell crank type links 34 and 36 are interconnected by a telescoping cross member 38, which maintains synchronization between the right and left tilt control links 22 and 24.

An upper, transversely extending hydraulic cylinder 40 is disposed between and in coaxial alignment with the bores 26 and 28, while a similar lower, transversely extending hydraulic cylinder 42 is disposed between and in coaxial alignment with the bores 18 and 20, the upper cylinder being parallel to and vertically offset from the lower cylinder. The upper cylinder 40 is suspended between said bores 26 and 28 by right and left support brackets 44 and 46 respectively, which respectively connect the right and left ends of the cylinder 40 to the right and left tilt control links 22 and 24. The lower cylinder is similarly rigidly suspended in alignment with the bores 18 and 20 by right and left support arms 48 and 50, which respectively rigidly connect the opposite ends of the lower cylinder 42 to upright brackets 52 and 54 welded to the top side of the cross member 16. A right, vertically extending, connecting link 56 rigidly connects the right ends of the upper and lower cylinders 40 and 42, and a left, upright, connecting link 58 similarly connects the left ends of the cylinders to maintain proper spacing between the cylinders.

The upper cylinder 40 has a pair of opposite pistons 60 and 62 respectively connected to piston rods 64 and 66 respectively extending outwardly from the opposite ends of the cylinder. The outer end of the right piston rod 64 is tapered and forms anintegral cylindrical pin 68 and the outer end of the left piston rod 66 is similarly tapered and forms an integral pin 70. The lower cylinder 42 is similarly provided with a pair of pistons 72 and 74 having piston rods 76 and 78 respectively projecting from the opposite ends of the cylinder, the right rod 76 being provided with a tapered end and forming an integral cylindrical pin 80 and the left rod 78 forming a similar cylindrical pin 82.

The central portions of the cylinders..40 and 42 between the opposite sets of pistons are connected by a hydraulic line 83 and the four ends of the two cylinders are interconnected by hydraulic lines 84, 85, and 86, which respectively extend between the right ends of the cylinders 40 and 42, the opposite ends of the upper cylinder 40 and the left ends of the cylinders 40 and 42. A conventional three-way control valve 87, which is preferably disposed at the operators station on the vehicle and utilizes the vehicle hydraulic pump and reservoir as schematically illustrated in FIG. 2, is selectively actuatable between a neutral condition, as shown, wherein the hydraulic cylinders are locked, an extension position, wherein it supplies pressurized fluid to the cylinders between the opposed pistons via a line 80 between the valve and the line 83 while draining the ends of the cylinders via a return line 89 connected to the hydraulic line 86, to cause the cylinders to extend, and a retraction position, wherein the line 89 is connected to the source of fluid pressure and the line 88 is connected to the reservoir to pressurize the ends of the cylinders so that the piston rods retract.

A pair of semicircular, upwardly open hooks 90 and 92 respectively are mounted at the opposite ends of the upper cylinder 40 generally concentric with the cylinder, the hooks extending outwardly from and being rigidly attached to the upper ends of the links 56 and 58 respectively.

A loader bucket 94 is detachably mounted to the forward ends of the lift arms and tilt control links and is of conventional construction, only the left-hand end of the bucket being shown. The bucket 94 has a generally upright rear wall 96 with four generally upright rearwardly projecting flanges 97, 98, 99 and 100, respectively attached to and extending rearwardly from the rear wall. As is apparent, the flanges extend substantially from the bottom to the top of the bucket and the right pair of flanges 97 and 98 are spaced apart slightly more than the width of the forward ends of the right lift arm 12 and the right tilt control link 22. Similarly, the left pair of flanges 99 and 100 are spaced apart slightly more than the width of the forward end of the left lift arm 14 and the forward end of the left tilt control link 24. Also, the right pair of flanges 97 and 98 are spaced from the left pair of flanges 99 and 100 the same distance as the spacing between the right lift arm 12 and the left tilt arm 14, so that, when the lift arms are properly positioned for mounting the bucket 94, the forward ends of the right lift arm 12 and the right tilt control link 22 are received between the flanges 97 and 98 and the forward ends of the left lift arm 14 and the left tilt control link 24 are received between the flanges 99 and 100.

The flange 97 has a pair of generally cylindrical bosses 102 extending laterally outwardly from the right side of the flange, the bosses 102 being spaced the same distance apart as the cylinders 40 and 42. Similarly, the flange 98 has a pair of generally cylindrical laterally extending bosses 104 respectively coaxial with the bosses 102, the bosses 104 extending inwardly from the left side of the flange 98. In the same manner, the flange 99 has a pair of inwardly extending bosses 106, and the flange 100 has a pair of outwardly extending bosses 108, the bosses 106 and 108 being coaxial with the bosses 102 and 104. The bosses 102, 104, 106 and 108 respectively have axially extending bores 110, 112, 114, and 116, which extend through the bosses and their associated flange. The bores 110, 112, 114 and 116 have substantially the same diameter as the pins 68, 70, and 82, so that the upper bores 110 and 112 in the bosses 102 and 104 form a pair of sockets adapted to receive the pin 68, when the piston 60 is extended and when the cylinder 40 is coaxially aligned with the bores 110 and 112. Similarly, the lower bores 110 and 112 form sockets adapted to receive the'pin 80, the upper bores 114 and 116 form sockets adapted I to receive the pin 70, and the lower bores 114 and 116 form sockets adapted to receive the pin 82.

Thus, to detach the bucket 94, the operator simply acutates the valve 87 to pressurize the outer ends of both cylinders 40 and 42, so that the piston rods and the pins formed by the ends of the piston rods are fully retracted from the sockets on the bucket flanges formed by the bores 110, 112, 114 and 116.

.The bucket 94 or any type of bucket or implement, such as a snow plow, bulldozer, or the like, having mounting flanges similar to the flanges 97, 98, 99 and with their associated bores, can be attached to the front of the supporting structure 10 by driving the vehicle up to the implement with the cylinders 40 and 42 in their retracted positions and positioning the vehicle relative to the implement so that the forward ends of the lift arms 12 and 14 and the forward ends of the tilt control links 22 and 24 are positioned between the respective mounting flanges. If the cylinders 40 and 42 are not in exact coaxial alignmentwith the respective bores in the mounting flanges, the lift arms 12 and 14 or the tilt control links 22 and 24 can be actuated so that the hooks 90 and 92 respectively engage the underside of the bosses 104 and 106. Since the inside of the hooks 90 and 92 have the same curvature as the underside of the bosses 104 and 106, the implement will settle into a position wherein the cylinder 40 is coaxially aligned with the upper bores in the mounting flanges. The hooks also provide a means for moving the implement without completely attaching the implement to the supporting structure.

When the cylinders 40 and 42 are aligned with the respective bores in the mounting flanges, the valve 87 is actuated to pressurize the center of the cylinders 40 and 42, simultaneously shifting the respective piston rods outwardly. The taper on the end of the piston rods facilitates the entry of the respective rod pins into the aligned bores. Thus, the upper right-hand pin 68 will successively move through the bore 112, the bore 26in the forward end of the right tilt control link 22, and the upper bore until the piston reaches the end of its stroke, at which time the end of the piston pin 68 i the operator from the operators station on the vehicle,

without any physical exertion beyond the manipulation of the vehicle and the valve 87.

We claim: 1. In a tractor having a forwardly extending vertically adjustable supporting'structure and a source of fluid pressure, the improvement residing in means for quickly attaching and detaching an implement to the forward end of the supporting'structure and comprising: a first pair of laterally spaced and aligned socket means on the implement; a second pair of laterally spaced andaligned socket means on the implement parallel to and offset from the first pair of socket means; first and second pairs of laterally extending pins mounted on the supporting structure and axially shiftable between extended positions, wherein they respectively engage the first and second pairs of socket means when the supporting structure is so positioned relative to the implement that the first and second pairs of pins are respectively aligned with the first and second pairs of socket means, to lock the implement to the supporting structure, and retracted positions, wherein they are disengaged from the respective socket means to disconnect the implement from the supporting structure; hydraulic cylinder means mounted on the supporting structure and connected to the first and second pairs of pins to shift the pins between their alternate positions in response to actuation of the cylinder means; a pair of transversely spaced, forwardly extending hook means mounted on the supporting structure and operatively engageable with a pair of bosses respectively mounted on the implement to shift the implement into a position wherein the first pair of socket means are aligned with the first pair of pins when the bosses are fully engaged by the hook means; and control valve means on the tractor operatively connecting the hydraulic cylinder means to the source of fluid pressure for selectively actuating the hydraulic cylinder means.

2. The invention defined in claim 1 wherein the hydraulic cylinder means includes first and second laterally extending cylinders mounted on the supporting structure, and respectively having oppositely extendable piston rods at their opposite ends respectively connected to the first and second pairs of pins.

3. The invention defined in claim 2 wherein the pins in each pair of pins are respectively coaxially attached to the oppositely extending'piston rods.

, 4. The invention defined in claim 3 wherein the pins are formed by the outer ends of the piston rods and are at least partially retracted within the respective cylinders when the piston rods are retracted.

5. The invention defined in claim 1 wherein the supporting structure includes a pair of forwardly extending transversely spaced lift arms and a pair of forwardly extending control links respectively above the lift arms, and the attaching means includes a first pair of laterally spaced and aligned apertures respectively mounted on the forward ends of respective lift arms in alignment with and adapted to receive the first pair of pins and a second pair of laterally spaced and aligned apertures respectively mounted on the forward ends of the respective control links in alignment with and adapted to receive the second pairs of pins.

6. The invention defined in claim 5 wherein the implement has first, second, third and fourth generally upright rearwardly projecting flanges; the forward ends of one of the lift arms and one of the control links being receivable between the first and second flanges and the forward ends of the other lift arm and control link being receivable between the third and fourth flanges when the supporting structure is positioned for at tachmentto the implement.

.7. The invention defined in claim 6 wherein one of the first .pair of socket means is formed by aligned laterally extending bores in the first and second flanges and the other of said socket means' is formed by aligned, laterally extending bores in the third and fourth flanges, and one of the second pair of socket means is similarly formed by aligned, laterally extending bores in the first and second flanges and the other of said second'pair of socket means is formed by aligned, axially extending bores in the third and fourth flanges. v

8. In a vehicle having a forwardly extending vertically adjustable supporting structure including a pair of forwardly extending transversely spaced lift arms and a pair of forwardly extending control links respectively above the lift arms, a source of fluid pressure, and a detachable implement, the improvement comprising: a

first pair of laterally spaced and aligned apertures in the forward ends of the respective lift. arms; a second pair of laterally spaced and aligned apertures in the forward ends of the respective control links; first and second parallel horizontal andvertically offset hydraulic cylinders respectively having a pair of opposed pistons with piston rods projecting from their opposite ends'and extendable in response to pressurization of the cylinder between the pistons and retractablein response to pressurization of the opposite endsof the cylinders; first and second pairs of locking pins respectively associated with the piston rods of the first and second hydraulic cylinders and respectively aligned with the apertures in the forward ends of the lift arms and the apertures in the forward ends of the control links and extendable and retractable in response to actuation of the pistons; first, second, third and fourth generally upright rearwardly projecting flanges attached to the implement, each flange having a pair of transversely extending vertically offset bores aligned with the pairs of bores in the other flanges, the bores in each flange being offset the same distance as the first and second hydraulic cylinders, the forward ends of one of the lift arms and one of the control links being receivable between the first and second flanges with their apertures respectively aligned with the bores in the flanges and the forward ends of the other lift arm and control link being receivable between the third and fourth flanges with the apertures in the lift arm and control link being respectively aligned with the bores in the flanges when the supporting structure is positioned for attachment to the implement; and selectively actuatable valve means operative to supply fluid pressure to the cylinders between the pressure to the opposite ends of the cylinders to retract the pins from the respective bores and apertures to disconnect the implement from the supporting structure. 

1. In a tractor having a forwardly extending vertically adjustable supporting structure and a source of fluid pressure, the improvement residing in means for quickly attaching and detaching an implement to the forward end of the supporting structure and comprising: a first pair of laterally spaced and aligned socket means on the implement; a second pair of laterally spaced and aligned socket means on the implement parallel to and offset from the first pair of socket means; first and second pairs of laterally extending pins mounted on the supporting structure and axially shiftable between extended positions, wherein they respectively engage the first and second pairs of socket means when the supporting structure is so positioned relative to the implement that the first and second pairs of pins are respectively aligned with the first and second pairs of socket means, to lock the implement to the supporting structure, and retracted positions, wherein they are disengaged from the respective socket means to disconnect the implement from the supporting structure; hydraulic cylinder means mounted on the supporting structure and connected to the first and second pairs of pins to shift the pins between their alternate positions in response to actuation of the cylinder means; a pair of transversely spaced, forwardly extending hook means mounted on the supporting structure and operatively engageable with a pair of bosses respectively mounted on the implement to shift the implement into a position wherein the first pair of socket means are aligned with the first pair of pins when the bosses are fully engaged by the hook means; and control valve means on the tractor operatively connecting the hydraulic cylinder means to the source of fluid pressure for selectively actuating the hydraulic cylinder means.
 2. The invention defined in claim 1 wherein the hydraulic cylinder means includes first and second laterally extending cylinders mounted on the supporting structure, and respectively having oppositely extendable piston rods at their opposite ends respectively connected to the first and second pairs of pins.
 3. The invention defined in claim 2 wherein the pins in each pair of pins are respectively coaxially attached to the oppositely extending piston rods.
 4. The invention defined in claim 3 wherein the pins are formed by the outer ends of the piston rods and are at least partially retracted within the respective cylinders when the piston rods are retracted.
 5. The invention defined in claim 1 wherein the supporting structure includes a pair of forwardly extending transversely spaced lift arms and a pair of forwardly extending control links respectively above the lift arms, and the attaching means includes a first pair of laterally spaced and aligned apertures respectively mounted on the forward ends of respective lift arms in alignment with and adapted to receive the first pair of pins and a second pair of laterally spaced and aligned apertures respectively mounted on the forward ends of the respective control links in alignment with and adapted to receive the second pairs of pins.
 6. The invention defined in claim 5 wherein the implement has first, second, third and fourth generally upright rearwardly projecting flanges; the forward ends of one of the lift arms and one of the control links being receivable between the first and second flanges and the forward ends of the other lift arm and control link being receivable between the third and fourth flanges when the supporting structure is positioned for attachment to the implement.
 7. The invention defined in claim 6 wherein one of the first pair of socket means is formed by aligned laterally extending bores in the first and second flanges and the other of said socket means is formed by aligned, laterally extending bores in the third and fourth flanges, and one of the second pair of socket means is similarly formed by aligned, laterally extending bores in the first and second flanges and the other of said second pair of socket means is formed by aligned, axially extending bores in the third and fourth flanges.
 8. In a vehicle having a forwardly extending vertically adjustable supporting structure including a pair of forwardly extending transversely spaced lift arms and a pair of forwardly extending control links respectively above the lift arms, a source of fluid pressure, and a detachable implement, the improvement comprising: a first pair of laterally spaced and aligned apertures in the forward ends of the respective lift arms; a second pair of laterally spaced and aligned apertures in the forward ends of the respective control links; first and second parallel horizontal and vertically offset hydraulic cylinders respectively having a pair of opposed pistons with piston rods projecting from their opposite ends and extendable in response to pressurization of the cylinder between the pistons and retractable in response to pressurization of the opposite ends of the cylinders; first and second pairs of locking pins respectively associated with the piston rods of the first and second hydraulic cylinders and respectively aligned with the apertures in the forward ends of the lift arms and the apertures in the forward ends of the control links and extendable and retractable in response to actuation of the pistons; first, second, third and fourth generally upright rearwardly projecting flanges attached to the implement, each flange having a pair of transversely extending vertically offset bores aligned with the pairs of bores in the other flanges, the bores in each flange being offset the same distance as the first and second hydraulic cylinders, the forward ends of one of the lift arms and one of the control links being receivable between the first and second flanges with their apertures respectively aligned with the bores in the flanges and the forward ends of the other lift arm and control link being receivable between the third and fourth flanges with the apertures in the lift arm and control link being respectively aligned with the bores in the flanges when the supporting structure is positioned for attachment to the implement; and selectively actuatable valve means operative to supply fluid pressure to the cylinders between the pistons to shift the locking pins through the bores in the respective flanges and the apertures in the lift arms and control links when the supporting structure is positioned for attachment to the implement to lock the implement to the supporting structure, or to supply fluid pressure to the opposite ends of the cylinders to retract the pins from the respective bores and apertures to disconnect the implement from the supporting structure. 